The folks at iFixit aren't just the people who rip apart every new gadget that comes down the pipeline. They're also enthusiastic proponents of user-accessible devices that can be repaired without an engineering degree - that's more or less the purpose of the site, including the store that sells tools and parts for readers to follow along with those prolific teardown guides. Now the company is spearheading a new lobbying group that intends to fight for the rights of consumers and third-party repair professionals.

They're calling it the Repair Association, and they've partnered with like-minded organizations such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Service Industry Association, the Electronics TakeBack Coalition, the Fixers' Collective and others to make it a reality. According to the announcement post, the Repair Association intends to advocate electronics that are built from the design stage for easy repair, free and easy reselling of hardware and applicable software, products that can be unlocked (both hardware and software) for user access to repair and modification, and easily-available tools, parts, and repair documentation.

The scope isn't limited to mobile electronics or even conventional computers: iFixIt's announcement post includes enterprise-grade hardware, home appliances, medical devices, and even farming equipment, all of which can be incredibly expensive and time-consuming for authorized repairs. There's certainly a commercial element, as the Repair Association explicitly says it intends to represent independent repair shops, but all of its resources will also be available to regular consumers on the association's web hub, Repair.org.

Expanding on work started by the Digital Right to Repair Coalition, repair.org will be a hub for repair professionals and a voice for the entire repair industry.There are over 3 million repair and reuse professionals in the US. They fix cell phones, repair refrigerators, refurbish servers, return tractors to working order, and so much more. Their combined efforts have diverted millions of products from landfills and added countless dollars to the American economy. Repair keeps America running.

Despite their contributions, no trade group unites the repair industry as a whole. Until now. The Repair Association will fight for the interests of professional and consumer repairers—as well as providing professional development resources across repair communities.

“The repair industry is facing unique challenges,” says Kyle Wiens, CEO of iFixit, the online repair community. “Integrated electronics are making it harder to fix things. And manufacturers keep restricting access to service documentation, parts, and software—which forces consumers into more expensive ‘manufacturer-authorized’ repairs and drives small repair shops out of business.”

The Repair Association advocates nationally for a competitive repair market, as well as improvements to the quality and longevity of products.

“As software has become ubiquitous, remaking everything from cars to phones to everyday appliances, so too have legal and technical restrictions on basic users’ rights to repair, research, remake and reuse our devices,” says Corynne McSherry, Legal Director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. “Now more than ever, we need organizations like repair.org to defend our rights.”

The Repair Association stands for access to …

Information: Fair access to documentation and software required for repair.

Parts and tools: Fair access to service parts and tools, including diagnostics.

Unlocking for repair and reuse: The ability to unlock and modify software and firmware.

83" My current salary is more than 4300 dollars each week. Over a year ago I was in a horrible condition , jobless and no bank credit . Thanks to one of my friends who showed me a way where I was able to gather myself and making average of 59 d/h. So it can change your life as it has changed mine.

All the more reason to fix out corrupt campaign finance system. I doubt this lobby would stand a chance against lobbying from their competitors, so fixing it would level the playing field and give them a better chance.

Something worth mentioning is how much better for the environment repairing something is instead of replacing it. I wish OEMs were more invested in a circular-type economy for technology. How much more can the planet take?

Caption: This is a rare earth element mining waste dump in China.

Jonathan Daggar

That this lobby is even needed shows how broken intellectual property laws are. Repairing stuff you own is a basic application of first sale doctrine.

"Intellectual property" is a 20th century neologism that would have seemed alien to the authors of most US copyright and patent laws-- at the very least. The original rationale behind copyrights and patents was to give the originator a temporary monopoly on what they considered a public resource. The notion of owning an idea ran directly against it.